NATIONAL 2 (Spotlight Weekly)]

Crisis Of His Own Making

Koirala's own supporters have created this crisis

By KESHAB POUDEL

After a week long uncertainty and political bargaining, troubles of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala seem to be over temporarily thanks to the efforts of Sports and Education Minister Amod Prasad Upadhyaya by bringing Koirala face to face with former Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka.

It is still unknown on what ground did Khadka decide to halt his crusade against the Prime Minister -- but there are reasons to believe that it is only a short term lull.

PM Koirala : Rules through cronies

Interestingly, General Secretary of Nepali Congress Sushil Koirala is the main hand behind the recent trouble. Pressed by junior Koirala, the PM sacked influential Khadka from the cabinet two weeks ago.

As ministers and bureaucrats around him cannot influence Prime Minister Koirala, it is the outsiders including his family who do play very important role in his decisions.

Although Prime Minister Koirala has a number of advisors, he always relies on his own close relatives. From country's day to day administration to managing important foreign policy issues and party affairs, what Koirala lacks is expert and objective advice.

"If Prime Minister Koirala had at least a couple of persons with certain vision, he could have changed the fate of the country," said a political analyst.

As no one advises him professionally, the quality of Koirala's decision making is always subpar. "When people who are supposed to give inputs to Koirala are themselves not fully qualified, you cannot expect quality advice from them," said a political commentator.

Sister-in-law Nona Koirala, Nona's brother-in-law Amod Prasad Upadhyaya (Sports and Education Minister) and the PM's cousin Sushil Koirala are the principal characters in Koirala's kitchen cabinet. A very dependable source on condition of anonymity confided that.

Daughter Sujata Koirala is also said to be in the race to establish her position inside Koirala's inner circle. Her one point agenda is to reduce the influence of Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar from the Congress stronghold in Sunsari district in particular and the entire eastern region in general. Because of her growing clout with PM Koirala's circle, Gachhadar, the former Koirala loyalist, has already distanced himself from the clan and joined Deuba-Bhattarai bandwagon.

Although many claim to have Koirala's ears, no major decisions are taken without the advice of these three.

Upadhyaya has already proved his clout when he arranged the meeting between PM Koirala and Khum Bahadur Khadka on last Thursday (15 August) at his residence in Dhumbarahi. After this meeting, Koirala and Khadka have put down their guns for an informal cease-fire.

Upadhyaya is making a meteoric rise within Koirala's inner circle as well as inside the council of ministers. The August 20 edition of Deshanter, a vernacular weekly with a Congress tilt, even described him as a new "political ace". His influence can be gauged by the way Koirala agreed to reach a compromise with Khadka despite Sushil Koirala's continued stance of not negotiating with the former minister.

Cordoned by his family members in decision making process, they themselves have sharp political differences over different political issues.

sujata Koirala : Wants a big slice of the pie

Khadka's open support to Shailaja Acharya for the party presidency in the upcoming party convention was said to be the principal cause for his removal from the cabinet. The battle between General Secretary Sushil Koirala and former Deputy Prime Minister Shailaja Acharya to claim for themselves as the rightful heir to the party throne is well known.

The power struggle within the Koirala family begets political crises for the country. Due to internal feud, Koirala loyalists have difficulty to stick to their loyalties.

Even Minister like Khadka who has had long association with Koirala family was suddenly dismissed. Prime Minister Koirala is said to have got rid of Khadka under the advice of General Secretary Sushil Koirala. Khadka's loyalty to the Koirala family has never been questioned as he was the one who even did not tolerate any kind of verbal criticism against Koirala family. He had even physically assaulted Pradip Giri in Varanasi when he verbally attacked late B.P. Koirala during their years in exile.

It seemed a typical family affair but the feud has rocked the country for nearly a week and brought the administration to a virtual standstill. Because of over reliance of PM Koirala on his pocket circle, many of his former loyalists have already deserted his camp and moved over to former PM Krishna Prasad Bhattarai's group.

Former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat, Bijaya Gachhadar, Badri Narayan Basnet are some of the Congress leaders who have switched their loyalty Koirala to Bhattarai. Khadka's position is still unclear.

Whether it be former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba or Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat, they were forced to switch loyalty due to the misbehavior of Koirala's men. In the past, Prime Minister Koirala had even fought with Ganesh Man Singh defending Dr. Mahat's appointment to the National Planning Commission as its Vice Chairman. But due to subsequent political developments and the growing strength of Koirala's kitchen cabinet members a big gulf has been created between PM Koirala and many of his past loyalists.

It is said former Prime Minister Deuba who even hesitated to demand any ministry in 1991 sided with Bhattarai following high handedness of Sushil Koirala. Girija Prasad Koirala is gradually losing all his old guards one after another in the last hours of his political career.

Although the temporary cease-fire backed by his own man has rescued the government from trouble, whether he will be able to get it over remains to be seen.

All The Prime Minister's Men

Minister for Education and Sports Amod Prasad Upadhyaya (Amod babu) has emerged as one of the main political advisors of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. He arranged the cease-fire between Koirala and Khadka. Mostly unknown in the Congress circle before 1990, Upadhyaya came out as one of the strong political loyalists of Koirala. Shrewd and soft-spoken, Upadhyaya won the by election last year from the Morang district on the support of Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP). It is said that Congress supported Gajendra Narayan Singh in his election to the National Assembly to make Upadhyaya's travel to the House of Representatives easier. After the formation of Congress government in 1991, Upadhyaya was nominated to the National Assembly. A distant relative of former Congress politician Surya Prasad Upadhyaya, he exerts a great influence in Koirala's decision making process. Originally a Dhungel from Ramechhap district, Upadhyaya's political rise has been meteoric.

Soft spoken Sushil Koirala (Sushilda) is another powerful kitchen cabinet member of Girija Prasad Koirala. In relation, Sushil is a cousin to Prime Minister Koirala. He also spent some time in Indian jail on charges of hijacking a Nepalese plane some time back. General Secretary of Nepali Congress Sushil Koirala is said to have influenced Prime Minister's decision in dismissing Khadka. Known for his expertise in building party organization, General Secretary Koirala has always stood as a shield to defend Girija Prasad Koirala from the attacks of his enemies. Whenever Koirala is in trouble, Sushil comes to his rescue. It is said that whatever issues bachelor Koirala puts before the Prime Minister, there is hardly any record when the senior Koirala has ignored them. In the party organization, Sushil Koirala is the backbone of Girija Prasad Koirala. However, Sushil Koirala's role has not always come as a blessing to the Prime Minister.

Nona Koirala (Nona bhauju), sister-in-law of Girija Prasad Koirala - is an active political member in the Koirala family. She was the one female relative of late B.P. Koirala who spent about four years in jail. The wife of late Keshab Koirala, Nona is also the central committee member of Nepali Congress and President of the Women Committee. In the fight for succession, Nona is said to be with Shailaja Acharya. Her two sons Dr. Sekhar Koirala and Niranjan (Niru) Koirala are also very influential in Koirala's team. She is one of the key persons who oversees the political base of G.P. Koirala in Morang district. In recent infighting in the Congress, Nona firmly backed Khum Bahadur Khadka who projected Shailaja Acharya as the new party president. The decision of Khadka to back Shailaja for the party presidentship neutralized Sushil Koirala's political influence to some extent.

Puranjan Acharya (political advisor), Hari Sharma (personal secretary), Gokarna Poudel and Kanchan Pokharel, the Prime Minister's personal staff have only ceremonial role. Among Koirala's official secretaries and advisors, Gokarna Poudel is said to be the most influential.

Birendra Dahal (also known as Rajendra Dahal) who used to be the key man in Girija Babu's kitchen cabinet has been sidelined at the moment.